Government announces £20m fund to support rapid COVID-19 research in the UK
Introduced by
UK Research and Innovation, Department of Health and Social Care
Targeted at
National Institute for Health Research, researchers
Timings
Projects will run over an 18-month period
Stated aims
To fund rapid research into COVID-19
Summary
The funding call is to be managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The fund is in addition to the investment for Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced on 3 February 2020. There will be two funding rounds: the first is focused on 'active intervention development' (including vaccines and therapeutics); the second is focused on 'diagnosis and understanding of 2019-nCoV' (spanning diagnostics, clinical interventions, epidemiological interventions, anthropological and social science-related interventions, 'underpinning' interventions (eg novel technologies), and other research that can make a significant contribution). Projects will run over a maximum of 18 months to ensure they can support the COVID-19 response.
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